


A Cat on the Hearth

by Miss_Prince



Category: A Little Lily Princess (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 10:12:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8886952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Prince/pseuds/Miss_Prince
Summary: After their graduation, Jessie and Lavinia continue to dance around each other.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [straightforwardly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/straightforwardly/gifts).



Lavinia eyed the creature reluctantly occupying Jessie's arms with skepticism. "It's-"

"A cat!" Jessie cooed happily, shifting said cat in her arms and further trying its patience. "The poor thing was huddled in one of the church entryways, half frozen. It seemed a cruel thing to leave her there, in the snow and the cold, especially in this season of charity and good will. And I know your fondness for cats, so..."

"So." Lavinia knew Jessie meant well, in Jessie's own particular way - a way that favored the romance of the moment over any practical consideration. "You brought home a feral stray."

Jessie flushed lightly the way she often did when Lavinia referred to the London townhouse where they now resided as "home." It always made Lavinia feel a little awkward, although Jessie did look fetching with a little color in her cheeks. "Hmph," she said, "I hardly think 'feral' describes this little one, do you? Why, she's as meek as a kitten!"

The cat decided at that moment that she had had quite enough of Jessie's embrace. With a hiss and a swipe of her claws, she wriggled free and dropped nimbly to the floor, sparing not a glance for Jessie's yelp or wince of pain. Thus freed, she gave Lavinia a baleful look before sauntering off toward the parlor as though she owned this house.

"Well," Lavinia said thoughtfully as she watched her go, "I _am_ fond of cats."

*

Two days later, Lavinia was seated by the fire with a mug of chocolate in one hand and a very pleased cat rumbling in her lap. Andraste - as Jessie had christened her, with only token protestation from Lavinia - had made herself quite at home in the townhouse already. Having been given a chance to bathe herself without interference from the elements, her fur was soft and white as the snow that continued to fall outside. Lavinia had no doubt that with a few more decent meals, Andraste would lose the lean, hungry look of a street cat and take on the proper well-fed sleekness of a lady's pet.

Lavinia was fond of cats, yes, but she had found that cats were often fond of her as well. Perhaps they sensed in her a kindred spirit; at the very least, she was content to wait for a cat to come to her, rather than chasing it about in a desperate bid for attention. That had been the tenor of Andraste's relationship with Jessie thus far - Jessie trailing after the cat hoping that presence and persistence would earn her affection.

Lavinia's lips pressed into a thin line.

She was saved from the uncomfortable turn of her thoughts by one of the servants arriving with the day's mail. Most of it was uninteresting, but the final letter sent all other thoughts, uncomfortable or otherwise, flying from her head.

 _Dearest Lavinia,_ it began in her mother’s unmistakeable script.

*

It was an hour later when Jessie found Lavinia pacing in the entry hall, letter clutched in her hand and Andraste watching disinterestedly fit her position curled up on the bottom stair.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, eyes bouncing back and forth as Lavinia stalked across the room before turning on her heel to stalk across the room in the other direction.

It took a moment for Lavinia to register the question, but when she did, it finally occurred to her how wild she must look, and she stopped abruptly in the center of the room. She took a deep breath, smoothing down her dress and taking the moment to compose herself.

“I…” she began hoarsely, and stopped, clearing her throat. “My father is ill,” she said instead.

“Oh…” Jessie murmured, biting her lip. “I'm sorry.”

Lavinia made a vague hum of acknowledgment.

The silence stretched been them.

“...Is it serious?” Jessie finally asked when the tension became unbearable.

The question seemed to snap Lavinia out of her fugue state. “Apparently. And so…” Lavinia steeled herself. “I intend to travel to India.”

“India?” Jessie said breathlessly. Despite the circumstances, she could not keep a sparkle from entering her eye at the thought. India! Land of tigers, and rajahs, and mysterious, exotic things beyond her imagining. How much more romantic than dreary London, where she had begun to fear she'd be trapped for the rest of her days!

“Yes. I shall leave as soon as is prudent, which I expect won't be until after the new year.”

“Well, given the circumstances, it wouldn't be an egregious social faux pas to cancel our Christmas engagements.” Jessie's mind was already running through the possibilities, traveling across the world by her Lavvie’s side. “I could extend the appropriate regrets for us, and if we begin preparing immediately we could depart before Christmas. In fact-”

“You misunderstand,” Lavinia cut in, interrupting Jessie's planning. “When everything is arranged, I will leave for India. _You_ will remain here.”

Jessie's fantasies came to a crashing halt. “What?”

“This is my affair. There is no need for you to drop everything to accompany me.”

“But I want to!” Surely Lavinia must know that? “Am I not your companion? It is perfectly right that I should accompany you!”

Lavinia's eyes darkened. “Then shall I say that I don't wish you to come? That I wish to make this journey in privacy, as is my right?”

Jessie felt as though her heart might shatter. “But you hate India! You always say that there is no reason to go anywhere else when we are already in the center of the world. I am the one who always dreamed of travel, who always thought India a grand adventure-”

“It does not matter what I think of India, given the reason I have for traveling there - a reason you have so callously ignored.” Lavinia pressed her lips into a thin line. “And I have my reasons for wishing to make this journey alone as well.”

“Then what am I to do? Am I to remain in London forever, a bird in a cage?”

“That was all you were ever going to be, so perhaps you should be grateful you were allowed the cage most amenable to you!”

The words echoed in Jessie's ears, ringing louder and louder as tears sprang to her eyes. “You,” she whispered, voice thick, “are absolutely horrid.”

Desperate to escape before the tears spilled over, she rushed to the stairs, accidentally stepping on Andraste’s tail as she did. The cat yowled and darted away just as a maid carrying an armload of groceries opened the front door. In a flash, Andraste was through the opening and vanished, her white fur invisible against the snow.

Jessie paused a moment, grip tightening on the bannister, before she turned and fled up the stairs. 

*

Lavinia regretted her words the moment they escaped her, but she was not a woman given to apology, and so she watched wordlessly as both her cat and her companion escaped.

She was tired. So tired. 

She would let Jessie stew for now. It wasn't the first awful thing Lavinia had said to her, and it was unlikely to be the last. With a little time, they would return to their usual balance. 

A few hours on, Lavinia asked one of the maids to check in on Jessie and bring her some of the fresh baked gingerbread from the kitchen. She had no appeasement to offer - her position on the argument had not changed - but she could do this much. 

She did not expect the maid to return to her with a tray of cold gingerbread and the news that Jessie was nowhere to be found. Questioning the rest of the help revealed that the scullery maid had seen Jessie leave the house hours ago. 

Lavinia’s heart leapt into her throat. Her mind flashed back to another winter, back in her school days, when Jessie had disappeared for hours without explanation, and…

“Find her.”

Lavinia found herself pacing the front hall again, snapping increasingly frenzied orders at servants as they streamed in and out, reporting their progress in the search. Nothing, nothing, nothing… Her hands were shaking.

Jessie hadn't… She couldn't have…

Lavinia would never forgive herself.

The door opened behind her. Lavinia turned, bracing for another fruitless search, an order to search the river rising like bile in her throat.

But it was not a servant who came through the door. It was Jessie, pale and shivering, cheeks and nose burned red by the icy wind, and Andraste clutched triumphantly in her arms.

Lavinia embraced her.

Andraste, quite unhappy at her suddenly cramped position, wriggled free and dropped to the floor with a disgruntled hiss. Lavinia only held Jessie tighter.

“Where on earth have you been?” she demanded.

“I… I went to find Andraste. I was worried, and I know how awful you would feel if something were to happen to her-”

“Did you ever stop to think how awful I would feel if something happened to _you_?”

Lavinia felt Jessie’s breath catch.

“I thought…” she pressed on, “I thought you might have-” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the thought, to give the fear a name and make it real.

“Oh, Lavvie,” Jessie whispered breathlessly. Her arms came up to return the embrace. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I worried you so.”

“I’m sorry too,” Lavinia said, and for once the words came easily to her tongue. “I’m sorry, Jessie.”

They stood like that for a long while, before Lavinia remembered Jessie’s sorry state and pulled back.

“You should rest. I’ll have cook put the kettle on, and we can get you warmed up.”

“All right,” Jessie murmured, as reluctant to let go as Lavinia was. They both sensed some unfinished business in the air.

It was Lavinia who finished it. “We shall leave for India within the week, if possible. That is… if you still wish to accompany me.”

Jessie’s eyes went round. “Of- of course! Lavvie, what…”

Lavinia shushed her with a brief, gentle peck on the lips. She thought Jessie might stop breathing at that, let alone talking. Her own breathing had quickened, sparks shooting through her from the place their lips had brushed. “We have many things to discuss, still. But that can wait for tomorrow.”

Jessie nodded and finally stepped fully out of her arms. She took a step toward the stairs, hesitated, and then turned back.

Before Lavinia could register what was happening, Jessie’s lips met hers again. This kiss was no deeper, almost - _almost_ \- chaste, but it was soft and warm and lingering, and Lavinia felt her heart open wide.


End file.
